Hiei's Horrors: Part II
by FGFH Enterprises
Summary: Continuation of Hiei's Horrors.
1. Chapter 1

Hiei's Horrors

From the Pen of

The Fan-Girl From Hell

"Suichi...Hiei..." Alanna's voice was weak as she gasped between contractions and the two leaned closer to hear what she was going to say to them. She reached out and laid a hand on either chest. As the next contraction hit, she clenched her hands into fists, pulling the collars of their shirts choking tight as she shouted into their faces, "You did this to me, you assholes! I am never eating cookies with you again!"

Hiei pulled back his fist to defend himself just as she released their shirts and pushed them away. The intern and the nurses exchanged a glance as Kurama pushed him back. Delivery room violence was nothing new, although it was usually the laboring mother who committed it. And they never remembered it the next morning.

"Hiei, you can't hit her, she's already in pain." Hiei growled and pulled himself free from Kurama's grasp, but made no attempt to approach the woman writhing on the bed.

"Yeah, Dad," the mental voice of Helios was full of scorn. "We're having a hard enough time here already without you 'helping!'" Alanna interrupted any attempted conversation with another loud groan. Kurama went over to try to comfort her and found his hand caught in a crushing grip for his efforts.

The intern had moved to the foot of the bed and set up the stirrups for Alanna's heels. He took one look and rushed out to find the doctor. "I can see a head," he said to the nurse in passing.

He headed down the hall as Alanna waved her free hand toward Hiei calling, "Shorty! Now!" Hiei hesitated only a second before consigning his hand to her grasp. A second later, another contraction struck and a small bald head popped out, followed almost immediately by yet another contraction and the rest of the baby's body. Kurama managed to pull his hands loose and leap forward just in time to prevent the infant from falling to the floor.

The doctor arrived on the scene to find Hiei and Kurama each standing there with a wet, bloody, screaming baby, both still attached to their mother by umbilical cords and Alanna just pushing out the afterbirth. The babies were cut loose, knotted, cleaned, measured, weighed and wrapped in warm blankets while Alanna was cleaned and moved to a dry set of sheets and the three of them were snuggled into bed together in record time.

Hiei and Kurama were left to fend for themselves as far as getting cleaned up went. Fortunately there was a shower in the bathroom and they had brought clean clothes with them. By the time they were done, the boys were asleep and Alanna was not far behind. There was a single sleeper sofa in the room for the fathers and both of them eyed it with serious misgivings.

"It's OK," Alanna said. "You guys were here for the tough part. You can go home now. But Shorty, I expect to see you here bright and early with a double cappuccino latte with extra cream and two blueberry cheese danishes. These people do not seem to understand the necessity of proper nutrition for a nursing mother."

"Please, make it decaf, Dad," came a sleepy mental whisper. "We don't want to be bouncing off the walls. We just want to pass all the silly tests and go home."

Kurama smiled at that and both he and Hiei said their farewells for the night and went home. The next day, Alanna and both boys were released and went home as well. There was no notation anywhere about anything unusual with the family in the hospital records.

Once Alanna and the boys were home and settled into their respective resting places, life seemed to fall into a new pattern. Instead of getting up every few hours to feed the boys, Alanna found it much easier to just bring them to bed with her. Hiei and Kurama were shuffled to the spare bed in the nursery and the sofa. There simply wasn't room in the master bedroom's bed for all five of them.

Alanna took a hiatus from her musical career. The paparazzi followed them around for a while, but when there was nothing more interesting than a normal (apparently) family for them to photograph, they gave up. They never seemed to get any scandalous pictures of Alanna and either of the men in her life. They never even got a good clear shot of the babies.

After the boys started sleeping through the night and no longer needed to be cared for every few hours, they were moved back to their own cribs. Two nights of that and they started sharing a crib so they would not cry. Hiei and Kurama moved back to their respective places and life went on.

2


	2. Chapter 2

After about a month of living with the constant confusion created by two newborns who they weren't allowed to play with, Kira and Kara solemnly approached their father.

"Daddy," Kira started.

"We've been thinking and talking about it," Kara continued.

"And we've decided,"

"That having baby brothers is not nearly-"

"-as much fun as everyone else-"

"-made it out to be and-"

"-we want you to take them back-"

"-where they came from."

"Now girls, you haven't really given them a chance yet. They are still too little for you to do anything with, but in a few months, I'm sure Aunt Alanna will be happy to have you help her with them and you will learn to love them. Besides, we can't take them back. They are part of the family."

"I don't-"

"-think so." The girls flounced off to complain to their friends. Since both Botana and Genkai already had baby brothers of their own, there was plenty of sympathy to go around. Horror stories about growing brothers were shared as well as fool-proof ways of getting back at them without getting into trouble.

Unfortunately, whenever the girls tried to implement one of those methods, something would happen to save the little victims. That was how they found out that Helios was a telepath and that the boys could talk, at least mentally. Their frustration with the intruders mounted as all of their plans were foiled.

Jin and Holly's baby boy was born about six months after Kris and Helios. His name was Tadi and once he got together with Alanna's boys nothing was ever safe again.

The twins each took to their own method of trying to get out that the three boys were working on destroying all of the elder sisters. Kira took the logical approach, that they were too intelligent for their own good and the fathers had to be warned. When asked how the twins had become so smart in such a short time, she would just point out their parentage and all would seem explained.

Kara, on the other hand, had taken to holing herself up in the room she shared with her sister for hours. She became quite a little bookworm, and her two favorite authors included Hawking...and Denzel Crocker.

When she was asked what the baby brothers were trying to do, she would explain about the plot in a calm and reasonable manner, just like Kira, how they were plotting to get rid of the elder sisters. Then, when pressed for answers about how her younger siblings and her nephew had become so intelligent, her body would seem to spasm and she would squeak out, "Fairy Godparents!"

One day, when the boys were just old enough to walk, Kara was making herself a sandwich. She toasted the bread, slathered it in hot mustard, then added hot onions, hot peppers and hot sausage. Then, she poured herself a glass of milk and sat down to eat it.

Helios toddled in, his big, dark brown eyes locked on the article of food in Kara's hands. "Umanamanum?" He asked, in incoherent baby-babble. Kara seemed to curl around the sandwich with a small growl.

"This is MY sandwich, Helios. You can't have it."

Helios blinked and tilted his head to one side. "Sammich?" He asked, but Kara didn't seem happy at all about the baby's first word.

"This is mine." She stated, setting it on the plate and crossing her arms over her chest.

"Sammich." Helios toddled over, as if ordering her to give it to him. She shook her head.

"No," She growled again, "This is my sandwich and you can't have it."

"Sammich?" Helios asked, eyes widening and his bottom lip quivering.

"No, you can't have my sandwich. Besides, you can't eat it, you haven't got any teeth." This was punctuated with Kara standing from the table and glaring down at him.

"Sammich!" Helios growled, reaching out and grabbing Kara's arm. He chomped down on it hard.

"OW!" Kara's eyes filled with tears as she thrust the sandwich into his hands, "Here, take it." She slowly retreated to the stove to make herself another sandwich and to nurse her bitten arm.

"Sammich." Helios said cheerfully, sitting down and munching on it. Hiei wandered in a few minutes later, to find Kara in an odd mix of dejection and rage and Helios sitting on the floor and just munching away on his sandwich.

Hiei looked down at his son in slight confusion. Helios looked up at him with a wide smile. "Sammich." He said, then started to eat it again. It was already almost halfway gone.

"Kara, what is that you're eating?" Hiei asked, looking over at the redhead, who glared at him before swallowing and taking a small sip of milk.

"My sandwich," She finally snarled out. Hiei almost jumped, then looked down at Helios. Obviously, it might be less dangerous to talk to him than to Kara at this point.

"Helios, where did you get that?" He asked, sitting down next to his son. Helios pointed over at Kara.

"Sammich." He said, then calmly continued his lunch. Hiei looked over at Kara.

"How did he get that?" He asked, "What's in it, anyway?" Kara held up a hand before swallowing and taking another sip of milk. Then, she pushed some of her hair out of her face, rubbed her watering eyes, and held out her arm.

"He insisted," She growled with a small sniffle, "I told him he wouldn't like it. It's hot bread with hot mustard, hot sausage, hot peppers and hot onions. Then, I told him he couldn't have it, because he didn't have any teeth, and he bit me." She crossed her arms over her chest, "I hope he's had all his shots."

Hiei blinked again, looking over at Helios as Kris toddled in. The little blonde sat down next to his brother, seeming to observe the sandwich with suspicion. Helios finally sighed and held it out to him. "Sammich?" Helios asked.

Kris took a tiny bite, then his face screwed up in disgust as he spit it out. "Ewwwwwwwwwwww." He said, looking at Helios now in confusion. Helios shrugged.

"Sammich." He said, and finished his lunch.


	3. Chapter 3

Kira, however, decided that, since the boys were obviously not going anywhere any time soon, she should befriend them in self defense. After helping her sister deal with the bite on her arm - it was slightly infected - Kira went down and baked a batch of peanut butter cookies, her favorites. Shortly after the first tray came out of the oven, Kris toddled into the kitchen, his little nose in the air, sniffing. Kira offered him a warm cookie from the plate. He eyed it suspiciously.

"Here, Kris. This. Is. A. Cookie. Can you say 'cookie?'"

"Coo-kie" He parroted, still watching her carefully.

"Here, this is a good cookie. You're going to like it." Kira held the cookie out to him and he warily took it.

"It's OK," she said, taking a cookie from the plate and biting into it. She poured them each a glass of milk and sat down with the plate on the floor next to him. Kris sniffed the cookie again and then took a small nibble. He chewed consideringly for a few seconds before taking a bigger bite, following it with a sip of milk. Kira showed him how to dunk his cookie in the milk. Kris thought that was great until the glass tipped over and they both wound up sitting in a puddle.

Finishing his cookie off, Kris pointed to the plate. "Cookie?" He asked, clearly requesting another. Kira smiled and gave him one.

A few minutes later, Helios wandered in. He walked over to the pair sitting on the floor. "Sammich?" he asked Kris.

"Nuh-uh. Cookie."

"Cookie?" Kris eyed Helios for a second and then held out his cookie. Helios sniffed and took a small bite.

"Umanumanum. Cookie." Helios demanded. Kris pulled the cookie back and held it to his chest.

"Cookie," Kris said, clearly indicating that this was HIS cookie. Kira sighed and took another cookie off the plate.

"Helios, you can have a cookie of your own. Here." Kira got him a glass of milk as well and left the two boys munching away to take another tray of cookies out of the oven. At that point, she became their favorite sister.

The boys finished off the plate of cookies before heading to their room for a nap. Kara went back to the kitchen once she was sure the 'little monsters,' as she referred to them, were gone. "How can you stand those two?" she asked her twin.

"They're not so bad," Kira said, finishing up cleaning the kitchen and bringing a plate of cookies to the table for them. Kara got them some milk. "As long as you are nice to them, they are nice back."

"I beg to differ," Kara said, brandishing her bandaged arm. "They are nasty and vicious and should be put down like a pair of rabid puppies."

Kira laughed, although she was a bit concerned. Ever since their mother had been killed in front of them, Kara had been a little bit "off." Kira was a bit afraid that she might actually do something to the boys. Kira was starting to think they were kind of cute and might even be trainable. Kira was concerned enough to consider taking the subject up with her father. Then she dismissed the idea. After all, Daddy had enough to worry about with real troubles that he did not need her possibly imaginary ones.


	4. Chapter 4

"Hey, Shin, we're here!" Alanna called into the house, the twin boys clinging to her. She ran a hand through her hair before looking around, "We have places to go and people to pulverize, so let's get this over with!"

"One minute!" A male voice yelled before a redhead walked down the stairs. He had long red hair with dark blue tips and a set of bangs curving into his left eye. A white and green "bucket hat" sat on his head, shielding part of his face in shadow. His dark cream-colored eyes were annoyed and impatient.

"Come on, kid, I'm here to see my cousin." She observed him suspiciously a moment, "Nice skirt, hun."

"Very funny," The boy tossed his hair, before turning his eyes to Hiei and Kurama. His jaw dropped. "Oh. Em. GEEEEEEEEEEEE!" He squealed girlishly. "THEY EXIST!"

Alanna sighed, shaking her head. "Look, go get Shin, okay?"

"Right, right..." The boy dropped his hat. In a blinding white light, he had changed into a female. The female in question immediately pounced on Kurama and Hiei with another squeal. "I KNEW you existed!" She grinned at Alanna, "And you said I was just being stupid! And you MARRIED them!"

Alanna rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Well, not exactly married, but we are all living together and I generally refer to them that way. Suichi, Hiei, this is my cousin Shinju. Shin, these are my husbands."

"Your awesomely awesome husbands!"

"Sure, let's go with that." Alanna stepped forward and pried her cousin from Kurama and Hiei. "Shinju, this is Suichi and the short one there is-"

"I know, Hiei. Squeeeee. I know who they are Alanna, I've seen the entire series plus both movies. His name is really Youko Kurama and Hiei has a Jagan under that headband thingee. Suichi Minamino is the name he was born with when he was forced into the human shell you see before you."

"Of course it is." Alanna reached behind her and pulled forward a pair of little boys, one with white blond hair and green eyes and the other with black hair and dark brown eyes, all three of them. "Did you take your medication today, Shin?"

"Yep all three cans of Monster and both packs of king-sized Reeses Peanut Butter Cups. Hey, look, Babies! One of them has a Jagan, Freakin schweet!"

"Sugar and caffeine, and it's not even ten. Perfect. Yes, Shin, these are our boys. This is Kris and this is Helios," Alanna smiled laying a hand on the blond and then the brunette in turn. The boys turned imploring eyes to their fathers and ran over and hid their faces against their legs. Alanna watched the display with maternal indulgence. "They are a little shy around strangers," she explained.

"Now that the intros are out of the way, can we come in and sit down? It's been a long day already and we still have a lot to do."

"Okies." Shinju backed out of the doorway to allow the others entry, barely noticing the girls who clung to Kurama. She groaned a little bit. "More redheaded kids, Alanna?" She asked, "I already have the Pookie Monster on my hands, I reeeeally don't need any more to babysit. But...ANYHOO!" She seemed to bounce back over behind Kurama and Hiei, "So, how are things along the Kakai and stuff going? I know the Spirit World Special Defense Force has been being all 'bleh' about all that. But, still, gotta visit family and stuff, right?"

"...and here she goes again," Alanna sighed, grabbing Shinju's collar and jerking her back as if she were a puppy on a leash, "Don't pester them, at least let us get settled in before you start asking us all the questions that are guaranteed not to make any sense to anyone but you and your little band of fanatics."

"Hmph." Shin ducked away from her cousin before sliding back (hardwoods floors and socks and all that) to Hiei and Kurama. "How do you guys stand her?" She whispered, "She's so..."

"Hn. And I suppose you aren't" Hiei took a step to the side to avoid the grasping hands of the girl, Helios held protectively on one hip.

"Now Hiei, be nice. After all we have barely met the...girl. Besides, she hasn't been properly introduced to Kira and Kara." Kurama stepped to the other side and held onto Kris while motioning the two little redheads forward. Both looked vaguely apprehensive, but one appeared downright grumpy and the other just nervous. "Shinju, these are my daughters, Kira and Kara. Their mother was my first wife, Kiki."

"Awwwwww. Dey, so cuuuuuuuuute!" Shinju squealed, "Maybe I won't feel too bad about babysitting duty. Wait...all this talk of kids makes me want my baby. 'Scuse me!" Leaving a slightly green Alanna behind, Shinju scurried up the stairs.

"Bindu...Bindu, where are you hiding now, we have guests! There you are!" Shinju soon returned, cradling a small black form in her arms. It appeared...fuzzy. Shinju smiled, holding up the small creature. It was a kitten, to Alanna's relief. "This is my baby. His name is Bindu." She smiled, holding him out to the girls, "You two can play with him, if you like. But, be careful, he's still kinda vicious."

The girls gasped in what appeared to be delight, and even Kris and Helios reached out for the kitten. He turned confused golden eyes to his "mother" as he was gently handed off to Kira. Shinju smiled a little bit, looking at the boys. "It's okay, you guys. If they wanna play with Bindu, they can. He's still being trained, though, 'cause he is still a baby, but he's a sweety once he knows you. See?"

"Daddy-"

"-He's purring!" The girls squealed, petting the small, fluffy animal. Bindu, apparently feeling slightly claustrophobic, hopped from Kira's hands and ran off with the two girls at his little fuzzy heels.

Shinju rubbed the back of her neck. "I just hope he doesn't decide to play his little game of disappearing and then pouncing again. I barely coaxed him out from my closet earlier."

There was a tiny crash and Shinju winced. "Damn," She muttered under her breath. At the confused glaces she was getting, no doubt silently asking her why she did not pursue the twins and the kitten, she shrugged. "He'll be back, he always does this with people chasing him." She winced at the sudden sound of another crash. "Yeah...probably should've told them his whole name."

"Oh?" Kurama asked with an arched brow. Shinju nodded with a guilty smile.

"Bindu Smokefur, shadow-kitten of dooooom."

There was a slightly long and awkward pause, before the sound of sock-covered feet sliding, then a squeal, and then a very loud crash. "Uh-oh..." came a quiet voice, "Kitty, what're you doing!"

"I shouldn't have said that." Shinju winced, as the kitten in question came running back from the source of the crash, reaching up his front two paws to Shinju like a small child requesting to be picked up. She did and he perched himself carefully on her shoulders. Shinju shook her head with a small chuckle.

"Ah, kitties. Can't live with them, can't live without them." Shinju blew her hair from her face. "You guys are so lucky I decided not to let the others over. Inu-Tiffy would be on you like...like..." She appeared to be frustrated, trying to come up with something to compare it to. She threw her hands in the air. "Well, like a lot of stuff. You get the picture."

The twins came scurrying back, looking sweetly up at Shinju. "Onee-sama-" Kira started.

"-may we-"

"-have the kitty back-"

"-pleeeeeeeease?" The two finished together. The older girl blinked a moment, obviously trying to determine which would be the better choice; to allow Bindu to remain on her shoulder, or to let the twins have him back so that they would be quiet. Finally, she handed the kitten back and the girls decided their job was to chase him for the rest of the stay. Kris and Helios also decided to join in game of "Chase the Bindu-kitty."

The door creaked open, a human nose sneaking slightly around the door, attached to a tan face. The girl behind the door had chin-length blonde hair and bright blue eyes and appeared rather animated about the fact that there were certain people in the household. Upon seeing Kurama and Hiei, the girl pounced on them, knocking them to the floor.

"Hihihihihihihihihihihihihihihihihihi!" She squealed, grinning down at both of them. "You're Kurama and Hiei! Squee! IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII'M Inu-Tiffyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!"

A pale hand reached out from behind the door, grabbing the blonde by the collar of her shirt and yanking her back towards a slightly taller girl. Her short brown hair was cut in layers around her face, a pair of bangs like Shinju's falling into her eyes. Green-amber eyes narrowed as she stepped through the door. "Down, girl." She muttered. Turning her eyes to Kurama and Hiei, she mutely nodded. She looked at Shinju, nodding again before clasping what appeared to be a collar and leash (earning an almost invisible wince from Hiei) around Inu-Tiffy's neck.

"Nice to see you made it, China." Shinju shook her head, "I didn't think you guys were coming over."

"We weren't." Another brunette, indignant this time, stepped in behind the pale girl. Her eyes were an unreadable mix of blue, gray and green with spots of hazel here and there. Her hair was much longer than China's, hanging to about mid-back. "But someone," She shot a small look at Inu-Tiffy, who was whimpering at China's feet, "decided she needed to come visit no matter what."

"Ai-ya," Shinju muttered, shaking her head. "Are the others with you, too?"

China nodded. "They're in the car."

"They might as well come on-" Another girl with blonde hair (strawberry blonde, as opposed to golden blonde) sprang through the door and attached herself to Shinju, knocking the poor girl back into Kurama and Hiei who were just starting to stand up. The strawberry blonde had brown eyes that sparkled with something akin to mischief, and was extremely...gifted in her curves. She clung to Shinju, who began standing again.

"Hey, Shinju-chan! We missed you, 'cause we're tight!" She grinned. Shinju shrugged.

"Uh, Amii...not the time...or the place, really..." She motioned to the two confused males and the angry Alanna.

"Oh..." Amii stood up with a small giggle as two boys stepped through the door.

"And who exactly are these people?" A boy with dark blonde curls asked, blue eyes inspecting Hiei and Kurama, "And why are they here while we suffer in the cold?"

"Oh, Jefe, I wouldn't let you suffer alone! That's why you got the other guys..." Shinju began to pet Jefe's head (again, there was an almost invisible wince from Hiei) before the boy jerked back.

"I thought we went through this already. You don't pet me, and I don't sick the Pick of Destiny on you."

"Wah! Jefe, you're mean! You have a black heart!"

"No, I have a gray heart, because my heart is made of lead." Hiei smirked at this statement. Maybe some of the girl's friends weren't so bad. The tallest one, a boy of maybe about high-school junior age with curly black hair restrained under a top-hat, dark brown eyes and pale skin, leaned over the thus far unnamed brunette.

"So, what'd we miss?" He asked with a small grin. The girl shrugged.

"Not much, just Inu-Tiffy pouncing on some guys."

"That's normal."

"Ehem," Alanna tapped her foot impatiently at Shinju. The redhead blinked, grinned nervously, and looked at Alanna, Hiei and Kurama.

"Guys, these are the friends that weren't going to come." She gestured to the group, "This is Inu-Tiffy," The blonde on the leash.

"China," The brunette holding the leash.

"Mars," The indignant brunette.

"Jefe," The blonde boy who supposedly had a lead heart.

"Amii," The blonde who had pounced Shinju.

"And Shooter." The dark-haired boy who had been speaking with Mars.

Shinju shrugged. "We were told someone from Koenma was gonna come visit anyway. We all have powers. Still, 'lanna's blow mine out of the water." The last was a grumpy mutter. Alanna rolled her eyes.

"And what exactly are these powers?" Kurama asked, before Alanna or Hiei could break in.

"Changing genders at the drop of a hat. Also, a pair of tights that allow extreme dexterity and strength." Shinju stated eagerly.

"Acid fangs and the ability to sense demons. Especially cute ones." Inu-Tiffy squealed.

"Hmph." China stated, but Hiei seemed to understand, since he turned slightly whiter and his eyes widened.

"Imitation and bomb-making." Mars said with a small smile and a modest shrug.

"Distraction." Amii grinned with an adjustment of her top that obviously made Alanna a little grumpier.

"Ultimate power over the Pick of Destiny." Jefe drew out a green skull-shaped guitar pick. Hiei and Kurama looked at each other a moment, wondering if that was really the legendary Pick.

"Ability to hold Mars' bombs," Shooter shot a small, puppy-dog look at Mars as she removed his hat and set it on her own head, before looking back at the other two, "and extreme accuracy."

A muffled chuckle went through the group of teenagers, but Hiei and Kurama looked extremely serious. After all, if there were humans getting powers again, could that possibly mean that they were meant for something? Or, worse, that there was another open tunnel. Alanna rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, right. Come on, Shinju, take the fanatics upstairs and at least let us grab the kids before going off on your usual rants and shit."

Shinju looked a little put out, gesturing to the stairs. Inu-Tiffy took some persuading (namely in the manner of China jerking the leash hard and quick) to move her along. Shinju looked back at Alanna curiously.

"You sure you don't want me and the guys to help settle you three in?"

"Hn, I don't want to have to see you brats any more than necessary, so stay out of the way." Hiei answered. Shinju rolled her eyes.

"You wouldn't hurt me," She giggled, "After all, Alanna's got you trained."

Hiei's left eye twitched slightly as Shinju giggled, walked up to her room, and closed the door before Hiei could get up the stairs.


	5. Chapter 5

The rest of the visit continued in that train, with Shinju and her friends "visiting" with Hiei and Kurama at every possible opportunity, occasionally taking one or the other out to demonstrate their powers where Alanna would not interrupt. Both demons were left with the feeling that they had learned more about this group than the group had learned about them simply because the group had pretty much known all about them to start with. Still, by the end of the two weeks of their visit, both of them had seen examples of all the teenagers' powers and still had no explanation of how they had acquired them. A call to Koenma ended with no more information than a request to confirm each of the powers and report back when they got home.

Once they arrived home and had made their full report to Koenma, life pretty much returned to normal. The boys had their second birthdays and celebrated by showing a host of new talents their mother refused to see. They cursed Kharistahl for ruining months of careful work and kept at it. The girls continued to go to school and get good grades. Kara kept insisting to her father that there was something very wrong with the boys and they needed to be better restrained (or put down like the rabid pups that they were).

Alanna's career picked up again. She started spending time on tour again, although no more than a few days at a time. She insisted that her schedule be set up so that she would not miss any of the important times in the children's lives.

Raven, Mariko and Akira appeared to be settling into the household just fine. Raven announced to her father one day that she was going to spend a couple of weeks with some friends sledding and partaking of other winter activities. She left for America and her friend's home with the understanding that she would be back when they were done.

While Raven was gone, the children (and their parents) received an invitation to attend a birthday party for Holly's daughter Fyrra, who was turning six. Alanna and Kurama took all four children with them. Hiei declined the invitation on the basis that he would rather have a little peace and quiet for a change. Alanna and Kurama were pretty well convinced that the real problem was all the children who would be there that were either the age Mercy was when she died or the age she would be now if she had lived. Either way, they said they understood and asked Mariko to "kind of keep an eye on him" to make sure he did not get too depressed.

They left on Friday afternoon and expected to be back by noon on Sunday. Mariko made dinner for herself, Hiei and Akira on Friday night. Akira retired to his room in the basement just after dinner, but Hiei and Mariko went into the livingroom to watch a movie that Mariko wanted to see. It was actually a kind of scary movie and she was afraid to watch it alone. They were just getting settled on the sofa when Mariko offered to make some tea and popcorn for the movie.

She went into the kitchen while Hiei was getting everything set up and found Akira there, just finishing some beverages topped with whipped cream and a brown powder, whistling a cheerful little tune as he went about it. As she put the popcorn into the microwave, she turned to her twin.

"Akira, what are you doing?" She asked suspiciously.

Akira looked down for a moment and then looked up at her sheepishly. "I heard you offer to make tea and popcorn for the movie and thought I would make this for the two of you instead. It is kind of spicy and goes well with the saltiness of the popcorn. I wanted to try to make up with Hiei some, but he wouldn't trust me if he knew I made it, so you should wait until after you drink it to tell him I made it for you."

Mariko agreed that Hiei would not trust Akira. In fact she was not sure SHE trusted Akira. "What is that brown stuff sprinkled on the top?" she asked as she poured the popcorn into a bowl and put the entire snack on a tray.

"Cinnamon," he answered blandly, adding some to the popcorn. "It accents the flavor."

"Oh, OK." Mariko headed to the livingroom with her tray and Akira headed back to his room to await the results of his diabolical scheme. Mwahahahaha.

Mariko set their snack on a coffee table in front of the sofa and curled up next to (almost on top of) Hiei as the movie started. The lights were low and the atmosphere kind of creepy, but Hiei assured her that this was the only way to watch these movies. As the film progressed and the level in their cups and the popcorn bowl got lower, Mariko started to feel a little odd, like she couldn't get close enough to Hiei. He was kind of squirmy, too and somehow they wound up kind of entangled in each other.

Mariko finished her drink just in time for the final climactic scene to make her jump and squeeze Hiei in terror. She unwound herself from him in embarrassment and started picking up the cups and the popcorn bowl. There was a little left in Hiei's cup.

"Do you want the rest of this?" she asked holding the cup out to him. He took it eagerly.

"Sure. This was very good. What was it?" he asked as he tilted the cup for the final swallow.

"I don't know. Akira made them," she said. Hiei sprayed his last bit over an huge area in shock.

"Akira?" he gasped in horror. He could feel the unmistakable effects coursing through him and knew that both he and Mariko had been given chocolate. He just wasn't sure how or why. It couldn't have been much. He could still think, but it was definitely there. He looked at the cups and saw brown flakes adhering to the sides. More of the flakes adhered to the popcorn remaining in the bowl.

"Mariko," he asked carefully, not wanting to unduly alarm the innocent young demoness. "Do you know what these brown spots in the drinks and on the popcorn are?"

"Yes, Akira said it was cinnamon. It's to complement the sweet and spicy flavors of the drink and also to balance the salt of the popcorn."

"Mariko, I think your brother might have...gotten his shakers mixed up. That is not cinnamon, it's chocolate."

"Chocolate? That's silly. There's no chocolate in the house. Chocolate is dangerous stuff for demons."

"Yes, I know" Hiei was definitely feeling the effects more strongly as time passed. "Tell me, are you feeling any different?"

"Well, kind of. I'm sure it was just the effect of the scary movie, though."

"Actually, it isn't. Let's get this stuff cleaned up and then we can go upstairs and ... discuss this."

Hiei very carefully poured the remaining popcorn out in the back yard ("for the birds") and rinsed both cups and the bowl before stacking them in the dishwasher. Mariko was starting to be a little unstable as he helped her up the stairs and down the hall to the master bedroom.

"But Hiei, I was going to go to my room. I just need a little sleep."

"No, the bed in here is much more comfortable and believe me, you will not want to sleep in a few minutes. Let me help you with your clothes."

"Thanks, Hiei. I was getting a little warm and the fabric was feeling like it was chafing. This is so much better. Ooh, I didn't realize your skin was so warm and smooth."

Things went on in a predictable course from there. With his last coherent thought, Hiei promised himself that he would kill Akira in the morning. In the meantime, however, he made sure that both of them enjoyed the evening immensely.


	6. Chapter 6

When Mariko woke the next morning, she was sick. Her head hurt. Her tummy felt yucky. She didn't really want to move, but she needed the bathroom. She dragged herself there after wrapping the sheet around herself. For some reason she was naked and her clothes were nowhere to be found. She was also in the master bedroom instead of her own. She wasn't quite sure why, but thinking about it hurt, so she didn't.

Once she was done in the bathroom, Mariko stumbled into her own room and found enough clothes to be decent when she headed downstairs. Hiei was in the kitchen and took one glance at her and handed her a cup of tea, fixed exactly the way she liked. As she drank the tea, Mariko's head cleared and the previous evening trickled back in.

"Hiei, what happened last night?" she finally asked when she had as many pieces as possible. Hiei, who had been puttering around making breakfast stilled.

"What do you remember?" he asked cautiously.

Mariko thought for a moment more. "We went into the livingroom to watch the movie. I was going to make some popcorn and some tea. When I came out to the kitchen, Akira was making some drinks for with the popcorn, but he said he didn't want me to tell you he made them because he thought you would not trust him even though he wanted to make amends. We watched the movie and then, toward the end, things start to get kind of fuzzy."

"That was the chocolate. Apparently, your brother put chocolate in the drinks and in the popcorn. He told you it was cinnamon and you had no reason to doubt him." Hiei's face was grim. "He must have known what would happen and that I would be looking for an explanation from him this morning because when I went down to ki-ask him about it, he was gone. He did leave a letter for you, though."

Hiei held it out to her and Mariko looked at it in horror for a few seconds before she could take it.

"I would wait until the headache clears a bit before you try to read it," Hiei suggested.

"How did you know I have a headache?"

"It seems to be an almost universal reaction to chocolate. I don't know of anyone who doesn't get one except me. Kurama can't even explain it."

"Oh." They sat in silence for a while as Mariko sipped her tea. Finally, her headache faded and her vision cleared enough to read the letter. She opened it slowly.

"My Dear Mariko,

By the time you read this, I shall be long gone. I cannot stay here with these people any more. At least not and retain my self-respect. Even if Alanna is our half-sister, it smacks too much of charity for my pride to handle.

Please do not be angry with me about last night. I just wanted to be sure you would be taken care of. The chocolate and the love potion should ensure that. One thing about Hiei, once he is emotionally attached to someone, woman or child, he will do anything to keep them safe and happy.

I will come and see you from time to time, but I believe that it would be best for all concerned if I delayed my first visit for a while since, although you may forgive me, Hiei probably will not for quite some time. Not that I blame him. After all, our family forced him to experience love with his first wife to save her life. Then we killed her. Now I have forced him to love again.

I know you will forgive me eventually and you will remain happy with Hiei. He can protect you and take care of you as I cannot.

Be Happy.

Your brother,

Akira"

Neither Hiei nor Mariko said anything for a while. They drank their tea in silence. They put the cups in the dishwasher. The breakfast Hiei had been making sat on the counter and got cold. Neither of them had much of an appetite for the food.

Finally, as Mariko started to turn away and head for the door, Hiei grasped her hand and yanked her into a hug. "Don't worry about it, Mariko," he said. "Everything will be OK."

"B-b-but Hiei," she sniffed, "Akira tricked you a-and I h-helped him." Mariko buried her face against Hiei's chest. He couldn't see the tears, but he felt them dampen his shirt. He squeezed her gently and then pulled loose. He reached up and wiped the tears from her face.

"Mariko," he said, "Akira tricked himself. My feelings for you have not changed, no matter what Akira may or may not have done. Either I already loved you or his silly love potion didn't work."

"Really?" she asked, looking up at him hopefully through tear-soaked lashes. "Because I've loved you since we met. I just didn't want to interfere between you and Alanna."

"Hn. Alanna and I were never really connected. She was there when I needed someone to understand how I felt when Missy and Mercy died and she slipped me chocolate accidentally once, but she really would rather be just with Kurama."

"Oh." Mariko couldn't think of anything to say, so she just hugged him again. They spent the rest of the day moving Hiei's things to Mariko's room.


	7. Chapter 7

On Sunday afternoon, Hiei and Mariko were sitting together on the sofa when the door burst open and the children came racing in. They immediately pounced on the couple, squealing and giggling. Kurama and Alanna followed the children arm in arm. "We're home!" she announced unnecessarily, waving her free hand in the air. It would have been impossible to miss the platinum ring with the huge black diamond even if they had wanted to.

Mariko pried herself out from under the pile of children, abandoning Hiei to their attentions and squealed at her sister. "That's gorgeous! Does this mean that you and Suichi-"

"Yes it does," Alanna answered triumphantly before Mariko could even get the question out. They stood together, admiring the ring while Kurama went over and pried Hiei out of the child pile.

"Hn. Nice rock, Kurama." he said upon viewing the treasure. "Who'd you kill for it?"

"Hiei! My Suichi wouldn't kill anyone!" Alanna's statement got her a strange look from Hiei and Kurama, but with the children eagerly listening to the conversation, they wisely chose not to contradict her.

"Besides, Hiei," Kurama continued smoothly, "this was part of the . . . acquisitions from when we were in the Nightmare Realm. I found it there and thought of Alanna. I was just waiting for the right time to give it to her."

"Wait a minute," Alanna said, turning on him. "You have had this all this time and you waited until NOW to give it to me? What in the name of all that is scared were you thinking?"

Kurama backed away, holding his hands up placatingly and laughing. "I just wanted to wait for the perfect time. And this weekend was it, wasn't it?"

Alanna walked over and snuggled up to him, giving him a kiss on the cheek. "Yes, this weekend was perfect," she sighed.

"Hn. If I'd known that you had the rock and that giving it to her would civilize her this much, I'd have suggested you give it to her years ago." Hiei didn't even dodge the punch. It probably was a sign of the civilizing influence of the ring that he just fell back and didn't fly across the room from the impact.

"Alanna," Mariko said sternly, "that is no way to treat your brother-in-law." The room fell deathly silent. Even the children stopped giggling. Mariko looked around at all the shocked faces. "What?"

"Mariko-chan, you do realize that Suichi and Hiei aren't brothers, don't you?" Alanna asked carefully.

"Of course I know that, Alanna. But you and I are sisters and Hiei and I . . . came to an understanding this weekend and we're getting married, too. Oh, Akira left."

"Oh? And are these things related by something other than just the timing?"

Mariko blushed and grabbed Hiei's hand. "Sort of, but," she darted a look at the intrigued little faces peering at them, "I think we should discuss this later, after the children go to bed."

Alanna looked over at the four obviously interested children just in time to see Helios turn an interesting shade of magenta and stare at his brother for a second. Kris turned red as well and the twins went off snickering. Kira and Kara stood there a moment longer in confusion and then followed, obviously intent on getting whatever information was available from the boys.

Kurama chuckled and shook his head. Alanna just sighed. "You may as well tell us now," she said resignedly. "I don't know how they do it, but the boys somehow know everything. While they aren't fond of Kara, they adore Kira and will tell her and then she will tell Kara. So by now-"

From the other room was a shriek of, "Uncle Akira! Chocolate? Ewwwww!"

With another sigh Alanna continued as if she hadn't been interrupted, "-all four of them are completely up to date on what happened."

Mariko blushed again. Hiei explained in as few words possible, showing the note Akira left to Kurama. Alanna's comment that the children had more graphic details was ignored except by Hiei who glared at her until Mariko smacked him in the back of the head.

Dinner was prepared and the children prepared for bed as normal, although they were all very excited about both impending weddings. After the children were asleep, Hiei, Mariko, Kurama and Alanna sat down to discuss their plans for the future. Hiei wanted to get a new house with Mariko and his children, but he was not sure it would be a good idea to separate Kris and Helios.

Kurama agreed and suggested that Hiei and Mariko look for a house close by and in the meantime, continue living there. At least until the baby was born.

"Baby?" asked Mariko and Alanna with identical looks of confusion. Hiei dropped his forehead into his palm and Kurama just chuckled and shook his head. "Yes, baby," Hiei sighed. "Mariko, you and I both had chocolate and then we went upstairs and made a baby. That is how it works."

"Oh. Yeah. I forgot."

"You forgot the sex or that that is what happens when demons eat chocolate?"

"Erm..." Mariko turned a brilliant shade of scarlet. Alanna snorted.

"Hiei, do you have to use that 'demon' excuse every time you get a girl pregnant, just because you have a thing for chocolate?" Alanna glared at him. "How many times do I have to tell you, you spiky headed little freak? Demons. Do. Not. Exist."

Mariko looked very confused. "Ummmm...Alanna-"

"Don't bother, Mariko," Hiei interrupted. "We've been having this discussion since we met and Suichi here has been having it with her since pre-school. She never learns and will never believe."

"But then how does she explain-"

"She writes it off as weird dreams. All of it."

"But Helios and Kris and the girls and-"

"Don't ask. She makes no sense and has 'rational' explanations for everything."

"Oh." Mariko thought about it for a little while and thought of several questions she wanted answers to, but every time she was going to ask, Hiei just shook his head at her. She resolved to wait until she and Alanna were alone and ask her then.

They had finished cleaning up and were preparing to head up to bed when a very bedraggled Raven came through the back door. Her hair was half out of the braids and her leather dress was twisted and soaked in a few places. There was fringe and beadwork missing from others.

"Damn, Raven. What happened to you?" Alanna was the first to see her, but her exclamation brought the others attention to the girl.

"Well Alanna, if you ever find yourself out in the mountains looking for a good hill to go sledding on and a friend suggests that an overhang on a hillside looks unstable, do not let another friend shoot off a sonic cannon to test the theory."

"Ookkaaaaayyy. That makes sense."

"You'd think. And once you finished digging yourself and those same friends out from under tons of snow and then hiking back to a cabin and nearly freezing to death, ask what is in the hot beverage they hand you to help you warm up. Did you know that some people think chocolate is good served hot in milk. They call it cocoa." Raven's face was white, but she had obviously been crying.

"Oh my." For once, Alanna was speechless. Hiei took his daughter in his arms.

"You know, Raven-chan, that's almost the same way you were conceived. We were hiking in the mountains, your mother and I, along with a group of others and a blizzard came out of nowhere and we were trapped in a cave alone. She made some cocoa to warm us up and then we made you." Hiei grinned at her for a moment and she managed to return a watery smile. "Now, who do I need to kill for taking advantage of my daughter?"

"Daddy!" Raven was torn between outrage, tears and laughter. The laughter won, although it was weak and had a slightly hysterical edge to it. "You're not killing anyone. My friends didn't know what would happen when I drank the chocolate. By the time I realized that there was chocolate in the drink, I was already feeling the effects. We had to decide which of the boys I was going to get because I needed one right then."

"So how did you decide?"

"Process of elimination. BB is really too young and we weren't sure that Cyborg's . . . equipment was functional, if you know what I mean. So that just left the resident Boy Wonder."

"Hn. And does this Boy Wonder have a name?"

"Of course he does, Daddy. Actually his real name is Richard, but we are going to name the baby after his alias."

"Oh?"

"Yes, boy or girl, the baby's name will be Robin."

"Robin?"

"Yes, Daddy. Robin. Robin Grayson, actually. Mother's family has a fondness for bird names, you know."

"Uh huh." Hiei turned and looked at the others. "Well, I guess this is going to be another triple wedding," he quipped.

"Triple-" Raven looked around her and Alanna waved her ring. "Oh Daddy!" She squealed, hugging him. Then she hugged Mariko and was hugged in turn. Then she hugged the other happy couple.

"But Richard and I can't get married, Daddy," Raven said some time later when the excitement had settled down a bit. Hiei looked at her inquiringly and waited. Raven blushed. "Richard isn't quite sixteen, yet so he can't get married for a while."

"I see," Hiei said, thinking furiously. "Then how is he going to take care of you and little Robin when he or she arrives?"

"Well, Richard actually lives with his fabulously wealthy guardian in a huge mansion and we are going to go live with them there."

"And this is all right with the fabulously wealthy guardian? He isn't going to kick the three of you out into the street to fend for yourselves?"

"Oh no, Daddy. Mr. Wayne is great. He understands that it was an accident and he has even said he will take care of little Robin's education when he or she is old enough to know what they want to learn."

"So you already discussed this with him?"

"Richard and I called him this morning. We were going to go get married, but Mr. Wayne would have to give his permission and once he understood that this is just an isolated incident and that we don't really have a lifelong commitment to each other or anything, he said he thought it would be better this way."

"More sense from a human than I'd have expected," Hiei muttered, almost to himself. Then he looked at Raven more closely. "Are you OK with this? Because you could still live with me and Mariko. We're looking for a house in the neighborhood so we won't be separating Kris and Helios much and until then, we'll be staying here with Alanna and Kurama."

"Well, I'll stay for a while, but with a new baby on the way, you guys are going to be awfully crowded here. Besides, I'm going to need to go set up my own nursery. Mr Wayne's butler, Alfred is going to be helping me. He's really sweet, but there are things I'll want done my own way."

"Naturally," was Hiei's last word on the subject. So the planning continued for the double wedding of Suichi and Alanna and Hiei and Mariko.


	8. Chapter 8

"Nice date, Shinju. Road warrior, huh? If this is what he looks like 'cleaned up', I'd hate to see him on a regular day."

"You know what, Alanna? Your mom!"

"Is standing right behind you with your mom and they both are staring at you in horror," Alanna smirked at her cousin.

"Actually, Alanna, sweety," the aforementioned mom interjected, "The horror was for both of you. This may be your wedding and you may be a trifle put out with your cousin, but that is no cause for you to insult a guest in my home."

"Yesssss..." Shinju murmured under her breath.

"And you, young lady," Shinju's mother added, "need to be a bit more polite before you embarrass Matt-kun in public and he goes to find some more mannerly girl. The very idea of you saying something like that to your cousin on her wedding day!"

Both girls hung their heads and then glared at one another as soon as the mothers' backs were turned. Then they turned in opposite directions and stomped off, significant others in tow.

"I don't think your cousin likes me very much," Shinju's date said once they were out of earshot.

"Eh - Alanna doesn't like much of anybody very much," She replied absently. She continued weaving through the crowd at the reception until she found the punch bowl. Chatting away to her date, Shinju used him for cover as she slid the flask from the bodice of her dress and poured a generous amount of a clear fluid into the bowl, stirring carefully. She poured a small amount of the doctored punch into a cup and tasted. She shook the flask and then shrugged and upended it over the bowl.

"Auntie Shinju! Hi! Can I have some punch, Auntie Shinju?" Shinju looked down into the huge eyes of Kris. His brother Helios stood just behind him.

"Erm- maybe- em-" As Shinju stammered, Helios' eyes widened a fraction and his face took on a mischievous smirk. He put a hand on Kris' shoulder and Kris stopped jumping. A moment later Kris smiled, too. It was not a pleasant sight. The boys looked at each other for a second and nodded.

"Auntie Shinju-" Helios started.

"-if we can't-" Kris continued.

"Have some punch,"

"May we take some-"

"To our big sisters?" Shinju considered what she had learned about the sisters from a variety of sources and came to a decision.

"Yes, boys," she said, pouring two large cups. "I think your sisters could use some punch. But don't drink it yourselves," she cautioned as they wound their way through the crowd.

"We won't," came the little voices in stereo as the boys vanished from view.

"Aren't they going to get in trouble?" Shinju's date asked, carefully choosing a plate of food.

"Nah," Shinju shrugged, making her own selections before moving both of them off to the side. "Even if the girls drink the punch, which is unlikely, the boys just got it from me."

"Oh. So if anyone gets in trouble, it'll be you?"

"Probably," she shrugged with an impressive lack of concern, "But, if that happens - which is just as unlikely as the twins drinking the punch, maybe moreso - I can take care of it."

Kris wandered off to Kara, holding out his cup of punch. "Truce?" He asked, tilting his pretty blonde head to one side, "I brought you some punch, Kara..."

Kara looked over at where Helios was holding out a cup to her twin. Kira took the cup at the same time as Kara did, though Kara sniffed her cup before both twins took a sip. Upon seeing that neither had fainted or died, both of them drank a little more.

"Check it, they actually drank it." Shinju said in surprise, "Huh. Guess I don't get points for foresight." She sighed, looking out of the corner of her eye at her mother, "Great. And mom's hitting on every decent-looking older guy without a date here." She shook her head, "My family's so weird."

"Yeah, hadn't noticed." Her date grinned a little with a shrug. "It's okay, though. No weirder than my family."

"So says you." Pouring herself a cup of punch, she shook her head and downed all of it. Her date's grin faded as he stared at her in surprise.

"What? Do you see anything else to drink? Besides, there's hardly enough-"

"To do more than make a couple of young girls tipsy?" The voice from behind her made Shinju choke on the punch. Turning quickly, she saw Kurama and Hiei both standing there, Kurama holding two half-drunk cups of the punch in question. He glared at her. "I'll thank you not to give this stuff to the children, now that you have rendered unfit for them," he snarled quietly, handing Shinju the cups.

"But I-"

"And don't pretend you didn't know that the boys were going to give it to them," Hiei added.

"Hey - That was THEIR idea, not mine!"

"Yes, but you didn't have to go along with it."

"Well, no, but-"

"But nothing. We are having enough trouble keeping peace in the house between the boys and Kara and now you have to set them up for a stunt like this."

"Oh get off it, guys. There's no way that one little cup of punch could have done any damage to those two and the boys were just wanting to play a little joke. It's not like they would really hurt the girls."

Hiei started to say something more, but Kurama grabbed his arm, silencing him. They exchanged glances at one another and then Kurama stared at Shinju's cup for a moment. The tense situation was broken up when Shinju's mother headed over, dragging a tall, dark-haired man by the arm.

"Well, that'd be our cue to make ourselves scarce." Shinju smiled a little nervously, "Exit, stage left. C'mon, Matt, time to skedaddle!." She zipped off to the right, grabbing her date's hand on the way past as he protested a little and the two vanished back into the crowd.

"So what did you just do to her punch?" Hiei asked when she was out of sight.

"Adjusted the amount of alcohol so that pretty much all the alcohol she poured into the bowl was concentrated in her cup," Kurama answered, setting the half full cups on the table. "She should be feeling the effects right...about...now."

Just as he said "now" there was a squeal from the other side of the room and they turned to see Shinju's date almost carrying her out the door as she giggled inanely. Of course, five seconds afterward, Hiei and then Kurama felt a strange blow to the back of their heads. Looking behind them, there were a set of two silver spoons on the floor. And Alanna and Mariko standing with their arms crossed over their chest.

"So, mind telling me _why_ my aunt felt the need to ninja-spoon you two?" Her gaze was drawn to the squealing, giggling form of her cousin as she was unceremoniously removed from the room. She turned back and glared at them. "Never mind," she snarled.

"Hiei, how could you?" Mariko looked at Hiei with tears in her eyes.

"But,,,I,,," Hiei was obviously trying to find a way to explain either that he hadn't done whatever she thought she had or that if he had done it, there was a good reason. Alanna did not give him a chance to finish even the thought.

"Never mind. We'll talk about this later," the look she gave them left no hope that the incident would be forgotten. "We have to go to the table for dinner now and then there is the cake and the dancing. Now, let's get going. And remember, this is the happiest day of our lives, so smile or I'll beat you."


	9. Chapter 9

Half way up the mile of stairs, the returning honeymooners heard the squeals and shrieks of laughter coming down from the temple above. They smiled at each other and continued climbing. Ten steps from the top they encountered small puddles and a few sprinkles of water from ahead. Obviously the children were having a water fight. Kurama felt a moment of vertigo, but since there really didn't seem to be anything wrong, shrugged it off as excitement at being reunited with his various offspring and taking the whole family home together to start their "happily ever after." After all, they had earned it.

Their heads had just cleared the top of the stairs and been greeted by shouts of "Mommy!" and "Daddy!" from the assembled children when a large water balloon struck Alanna directly in the face. Before Kurama could react, it burst, drenching them both. Alanna had automatically stepped back when she saw the water balloon and her foot slipped in one of the puddles on the step behind her, sliding into open air. Her balance irrevocably lost, Alanna tumbled backwards, rolling and bouncing, almost the entire mile-long stairway to roll to a stop at the base in a still, crumpled heap that no one could imagine was unhurt.

Kurama turned and chased his bride of less than two months down the stairs at the top speed his body would allow, which seemed immeasurably slow to him. Then again, the entire chain of events seemed to be happening in slow, nightmarish motion, so why should he be any different? And why was he unable to save her by catching her with vines before her first bounce? Not that these thoughts did more than chase themselves across his mind as he raced to the scene of horror before him.

Time returned to normal as Kurama reached the crumpled form at the base of the steps. She was folded up on herself like a piece of origami in places a human body should not be folded. There were pointed bits of broken bone sticking out through her skin around which blood trickled. Unsure of what to do, Kurama straightened her battered body as best he could. Looking up the stairs for help, he saw that most of the children were still at the top, being restrained by Helios and Kris, while Genkai was hobbling down the stairs as fast as her elderly legs would move.

She was accompanied by Hiei's sister Yukina and Yusuke's wife Keiko. As he watched them approaching, Alanna regained consciousness. She groaned slightly and whispered his name.

"Suichi…I hurt…what happened?" she gasped as blood trickled from the corner of her mouth. Her lungs gurgled ominously.

"You'll be OK, Alanna," he lied desperately to both of them. "There was a bit of an accident and you took a little tumble. Just hang on a little and we'll get you to the doctor and everything will be fine."

A sound somewhere between a snort and a choked chuckle burst from her with another gout of blood. "You know, Suichi…you have always been a lousy liar…Starting from when you told me about being a demon…a demon in human form, back…back in preschool so I wouldn't steal your cookies. You're not getting any better with age."

Alanna stopped talking to grasp at a few desperate, gurgling breaths. Kurama could see the consciousness and life fading from her eyes. "Suichi…Suichi, promise me you will take good care of the boys for me."

"I will, Alanna," he said, cuddling her nearly limp form to his chest.

"And…promise to…take care…of yourself, too." She gasped. Drawing in one final breath, Alanna drew herself back so she could look up into her husband's face. "If you don't, I'll come back and kick your ass."

Kurama might have laughed at this typical Alannaism, but as the last syllable left her lips, Alanna's body went stiff for an instant and then completely limp. There was not another intake of air. Kurama held her gently until help got there and then carried her body to the temple himself and laid her on a pallet and covered her with a blanket.

He spent the next two days sitting at her side in despair until Kris and Helios snuggled up on either side of him, reminding him silently that he was not the only one who had suffered a devastating loss. He snuggled the boys closer and the three of them sat in silent misery until one of the twins came in and dragged them back to the land of the living through the simple expedient of appealing to her father for help.

"D-d-daddy!" she wailed, "I t-tried to st-stop her, but Kara ran away. Sh-she said she was going to go out into the forest and never come back! Sh-she said she killed Auntie Lanna and it is all her fault and now you will never want to see her again, so she left and now she's GONE!!!"

The distraught girl threw herself into her father's arms, sobbing broken heartedly. Kurama looked up as Genkai stepped into the doorway.

"I followed her as far as I could," the elderly psychic said. "She has made herself a nest of deathvines out in the forest and is safe enough for the time being. You should probably go get her before it gets dark, though. Some nasty things roaming around out there at night."

None of the four of them wanted to be left, so they all followed Genkai to the forest and to the writhing ball of vines in the tree that enclosed Kara. Genkai headed back to the temple and the dinner preparations she had abandoned. Hopefully they would all be together for dinner tonight.


End file.
